February 17 2025

Monday February 17

“Give Us Day by Day Our Daily Bread”

Luke 11:1-4

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." 2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

We can’t talk enough about the importance of prayer, the priority of prayer, the power of prayer, the purpose of prayer, the place of prayer and the pattern of prayer. Volumes of books have been written on the subject of prayer. For sure, preaching or teaching about prayer is one of my favorite topics. This is what we have been looking at here in Luke 11:1-13. The greatest teacher that ever lived is teaching His disciples about prayer by giving them a pattern to guide them in their praying. Especially, on how to pray and what to pray for.

Jesus first teaches them, and us, to begin our prayers by remembering and meditating on the Father’s purity. In the Old Testament the holiness and purity of God is revealed by His name. In the second of the Ten Commandments we are warned not to “take the name of the LORD our God in vain”. Which means we are never to use His name in an empty way. James teaches us that our hearts must be pure as we enter God’s presence: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).

After we occupy our hearts and minds with our Father’s purity, we then can focus on our Father’s purposes. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…”. It has always been God's purpose to establish a glorious, righteous kingdom here on earth. Our prayers to our Father are used by God to accomplish this great purpose! Jesus made it very clear that He Himself was sent to only do the will of His Father (John 5:30). In John 6:38, Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Just before Jesus ascended back into heaven after His resurrection, He told His disciples in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  We are included in this sending! We are here to do the Father’s will on earth and fulfill the purposes of His kingdom rule on earth just as it is in heaven.

Today we are looking at the first personal petition in this pattern of prayer that concerns our Father’s provision for our daily needs! Once we are secure in our relationship with God and His will, then we can bring our requests to Him (Luke 11:3-4). We can ask Him to provide our needs (not our greeds!) for today, to forgive us for what we have done yesterday, and to lead us in the future. All of our needs may be included in these three requests: material and physical provision, moral and spiritual perfection, and divine protection and direction.

“Give us day by day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3). Three important truths are tucked in this part of the prayer about the resources of God. First, our Father’s favor. "Give." Our blessings come from God, not by merit but by mercy. God must "give," for we do not earn. The very nature of God is to give. Remember John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….”. Our Father God delights to give good gifts to His children. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Second, our faith is involved because we are to ask, "day by day." Our request is not for a week’s, a month’s, or a year's supply, but a daily supply. This requires faith each day. Jesus also taught this truth in His “Mount of Beatitude’s” message in Matthew 6:30-34: “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Third, our request involves food. “Bread”. Remember the manna in the wilderness that fell daily for the people of Israel in the wilderness? But we are not only to pray and trust the Lord for our daily physical needs but also for our daily spiritual food! We desperately need our Father’s Holy Spirit to feed our soul and our spirit with the “Bread of Life”, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, to be able to be strong for each day’s journey and all the challenges that come with it!

Are you trusting the Lord today for your physical and spiritual needs?

God bless!